North Korean state media reports that at least 88 people are dead as severe floods sweep the isolated country.<br/> <br />The disaster is threatening to make the poverty-stricken nation's already chronic food shortage even worse.<br/> <br />The floods were brought on by heavy downpours as a result of Typhoon Khanun.<br/> <br />Official news agency KCNA said the western part of the country was the hardest hit.<br/> <br />They also reported that 134 people had been injured, tens of thousands left homeless, and more than 5,000 houses destroyed.<br/> <br />Since the mid-1990s, North Korea's farm sector has often been devastated by both floods and drought.<br/> <br />Even before this summer's floods, the country's dysfunctional food distribution system, very high inflation and international sanctions had contributed to what appears to be severe hunger.<br/> <br />Travis Brecher, Reuters
